International Women’s Day 2023 Embrace Equity

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, we’ve pulled Domonie (aka Dom, Little Dom, Mrs Spotty, “Oh-You-Must-Be-Klimt’s-Wife”) out from behind the scenes to answer a few questions! 

What’s your role at Spotty?

I’m a Spotty owner and founder and my official title is now Digital Media and Marketing Coordinator. I’m in charge of all our socials and content creation and am the person writing back to all of your comments and messages. I’ve recently started working on more administrative tasks and have also been working hard, along with the other Spotty owners, to organise what events will look like at our new Taphouse! So if you’ve been in contact about an event it’s me behind the keyboard there too. Or you might find me out at the Taphouse on the weekend (kids and husband in tow) chatting to people about how we can make their events magical!

It’s hard to fully articulate what I do… A bit of everything really (but not the actual brewing)!

How did you get here?

I’ve been doing Spotty socials since we started the business, with my first Instagram post in July 2014 (that got 5 likes…) I was always interested in this side of the business and it’s been pretty satisfying watching our growth over the last nine years knowing that’s my work! If you’d told me 15 years ago I’d own a brewery and be in charge of social media I would have thought you were crazy! A non-beer drinking mental health counsellor moving into the world of marketing and craft beer, who would have thought?! Since starting Spotty Dog, Klimt and I have had two children, and since having our youngest I’ve taken leave from my “real job” to make Spotty my focus which is very exciting!

Who are the important women in your life that inspire you everyday?

One of the most important women I am so grateful for is my sister (and co-owner/founder), Marnie. We have always been close and I feel so fortunate to have her by my side both personally and professionally! I know I can count on her, whether it’s wrangling our crazy tribe of kids together; debriefing our days after our early morning gym sessions (sometimes we talk longer than we worked out for); communicating over three different platforms at the same time talking about different things; or actually knuckling down and discussing business. 

My Mum is the other woman in my life who has always been there for me. I feel so grateful to have a close bond with her and a new-found appreciation for the role she has played in my life after becoming a Mum myself! We are similar in some ways and in others quite different (I certainly didn’t inherit her tidiness or green thumb) but she has always supported me. My Tuesday afternoons wouldn’t be the same without a phone call that goes on half an hour longer than it needed to (“oh just one more thing…”)

My mother-in-law, Sonja (wow I hit the jackpot there!); my two closest friends (forever bonded by Harry Potter and rainbows); my new Mum’s group friends (always ready for a rant about kids, a play date or a cheeky glass of wine); my life-long dancing friends and all the women I have taught dance with and to; and the women I’ve forged friendships with as an adult bonding over true crime and the friendships shared between our amazing (but sometimes ever-so-slightly-frustrating) husbands. 

There are also women I have met through this industry that I admire and have opened my eyes to things: Jani, the partner of our head brewer, who is always willing to lend a hand and always has a smile on her face; and the women I met last week at the hop festival who I shared such insightful and meaningful conversations with and are all doing awesome things in the craft beer industry. I’m now officially a Pink Boots Society Member so I’m excited to continue meeting women in beer in Tasmania and Australia!

How does this years IWD theme of Embracing Equity resonate with you?

The theme of Embracing Equity has been something I’ve been passionate about for a long time in my counselling career working in mental health and supporting vulnerable families, children and young people in our community. Supporting people based on their individual needs with the view of creating equal outcomes underpinned a lot of my work in that area. 

I think now that I’m working in a historically male dominated industry it’s important for me to take the idea of gender equity and the skills I used in my counselling work and apply that perspective in my work here at Spotty. I’ll continue having conversations with my colleagues and women in the industry and I’d like to work towards developing equitable leave and recruitment policies and how we can actively support those who may have previously been overlooked in this industry. I would love to help create a workplace where women are not just welcome but celebrated!